Pushy parents are increasingly intervening to make sure sons and daughters win
places at leading universities, it has emerged.

Admissions tutors told how rising numbers of mothers and fathers – along with grandparents – were accompanying children on university open days, writing their application form and even fighting appeals on their behalf if they are rejected.

One university said the number of parents “checking out” institutions alongside sons or daughters had more than doubled in recent years while another told how inquiries from parents now outnumbered those from prospective students.

The move has coincided with a rise in the cost of a degree, with families increasingly dipping into savings to cover course fees. Student fees were set at £1,000 in 1998 before tripling to £3,000 in 2006.

From next autumn, costs will rise to as much as £9,000 for English students, prompting warnings of a further spike in parental interference.

But as hundreds of thousands of teenagers prepare to apply to university this term, experts warned that the development risked infantilising young adults and leaving them ill-prepared for the demands of higher education.

Paul Govey, head of student marketing and admissions at Manchester, Britain’s biggest university, said: “Really, it’s been building year on year since the introduction of the new fees regime in the late 90s. In the last few years, the parents’ role has increased in so far as they are now fighting the corner for their child when it comes to confirming places on A-level results day.

“The problem is that because of data protection [laws] we cannot deal with the parent until we get the applicant’s permission. That just complicates things further.”

Manchester said that in a number of instances parents actually enlisted the help of local MPs to lobby universities on their behalf after children were turned down.

Imperial College London told how it now held specific sessions for family members during university open days and had even set-up a website specifically to answer queries from parents.

Birmingham said 18,000 parents attended its June open day, compared with just 7,000 more than two years ago, adding that it also staged dedicated presentations for mothers and fathers.

David Winstanley, head of undergraduate recruitment at Sussex University, said: “At open days, we now have more parents than students. Each student brings, on average, more than one guest. Some see it as a family day out, with mum, dad, grandparents and little brother coming.

“For some events, we have a specific parents’ programme, which covers issues such as finance and the admissions process, while students concentrate on what we call the more glamorous side.”